Job Title: Senior Technical Advisor
Hiring Organization: Amref Kenya
Location – Locality: Nairobi
Location – Region: Kenya
Industry: NGO
Job Type: Full Time
Salary: KES
Date Posted: 05/31/2024
About
The Role
The Senior Technical Advisor will offer leadership, management and technical assistant for Amref’s Learning for Life (L4L): Building a Resilient and Responsive Health Workforce in Africa programme in Kenya. This 4-year programme in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, will be implemented in Kenya, Senegal and Zambia during this first phase. The estimated ratio of health workers per population in Africa is 11.2 workers per 10,000 people, far below the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended ratio of 44.5. It is estimated that the global shortage of health workers will increase from 12 to 18 million by 2030, translating to a shortage of six million health workers. Africa also has the world’s fastest growing population, which presents governments and policy makers with both opportunities and challenges to ensure sufficient livelihood opportunities for its young population. To address these challenges and accelerate the current Universal Health Coverage (UHC) gains, Amref is implementing this innovative, multi-country, multi-million dollar programme with the ultimate goal of contributing to increased and sustainable job creation within primary health care (PHC) sectors across Africa.
Reporting
to the PHC Programme Manager, the Senior Technical Advisor will lead the
implementation of the Learning for Life programme’s pillars of health
employment, health entrepreneurship, and health ecosystem building in Kenya.
S/he will oversee stakeholder engagement to ensure ongoing relevance and
alignment of programme interventions with both national and sub-national
priorities.
The role
involves guiding and inspiring the assessment, training, and coordination of
ecosystem players to bolster the primary healthcare workforce, which includes
Community Health Workers. The Senior Technical Advisor will also support the
strengthening of the Ministry of Health, along with those of training
institutions and other pertinent public and private sector entities, to
optimize the generation and integration of a skilled health workforce that
meets the evolving needs of the healthcare landscape.
About
You
You are a
leader who understands how to inspire and guide teams, fostering collaboration,
and driving towards common ambitious goals. You are a clear and concise
communicator who uses your skills to engage and maintain positive relationships
with stakeholders, conveying strategies, and ensure alignment across various
levels of the healthcare system. You are able to think strategically to
understand, analyze and influence the broader healthcare landscape, identifying
opportunities for improvement, and developing long-term plans to address
challenges.
You also
are a strong project manager who is able to use the skills in planning,
implementing, and evaluating programme interventions effectively, while
ensuring adherence to timelines and budgets. We know that the health sector is
dynamic, and thus you are adaptable to respond to changes and challenges but
still having an eye on the goal which is the key to success.
Principal
Responsibilities
Project
Management
Provide
management and technical expertise, oversee coordination, and supervise
activities within the Learning for Life programme, ensuring alignment with
programme goals and objectives.
Lead
discussions to guide the implementation of the programme, offering insights and
recommendations based on technical expertise.
Offer
technical and operational support across all phases of the programme, ensuring
seamless integration and alignment with the multi-country programme.
Conduct
regular risk assessments, identifying potential obstacles and developing
mitigation strategies to ensure programme success and minimize disruptions to
activities. PHC Health Care Workers Employment
Steer
conversations with the stakeholders including National and County Governments,
Regulatory Bodies, and training institutions to co-develop, review, and adapt
country-specific curricula responsive to training and healthcare ecosystem
needs.
Facilitate
the establishment of knowledge exchange platforms to promote south-to-south and
peer-to-peer learning and communities of practice among primary healthcare
workers.
Support
young health workers through mentorship programmes and scholarships to enhance
specialized or advanced skills, including soft skills relevant to the health
ecosystem.
Facilitate
the development and review of regulations at national and regional levels
tofacilitate cross-border labor movement and ensure harmonization of curricula
and qualifications.
Health
Entrepreneurship Support
Lead
strategic mapping and vetting of health and related-sector entrepreneurship
opportunities, leveraging the Social Health Insurance Fund.
Provide
comprehensive support to health workforce and affiliated entrepreneurs in
business development, focusing on supply chain optimization.
Drive
development, testing, and scaling of innovative business models such as Social
Franchising and Social Marketing in healthcare.
Establish
and nurture inter-university social entrepreneurship networks in collaboration
with tertiary institutions.
Monitoring,
Evaluation Research and Learning
Support
monitoring and evaluation processes to assess programme progress, ensure
accountability, determine impact, and facilitate organizational learning.
Support
management of health data monitoring and audit activities, ensuring accurate
reporting in various systems including iHRIS, National Health Workforce
Accounts, CHW registry, and project-based tools.
Take the
lead in documenting, institutionalizing, and disseminating achievements, best
practices, and lessons learned from health activity implementation.
Support
comprehensive in-country assessments and collaborate with regional team to
identify knowledge and skills gaps in the health ecosystem, guiding strategic
planning.
Support
in conducting and applying research to inform the implementation of best
practices in health interventions.
Health
Ecosystem
Lead
stakeholder policy engagement initiatives, including with youth, to address
identified gaps within the health sector.
Support
the project steering committee at country level;
Develop
and maintain strong, collaborative partnerships with health sector entities,
government counterparts, regulators, and county stakeholders to ensure
effective programme implementation.
Represent
the organization at national and county-level technical meetings, conferences,
and workshops, collaborating with other Amref Projects to support the co-design
and institutionalization of project interventions.
Programme
Development
Actively
participate or lead programme concept development and proposals for
fundraising.
Engage in
strategic partnerships towards programme development
Education
and Professional Qualifications
University
degree in health sciences or healthcare management.
Master’s
degree in health or social sciences is preferable. Additional years of relevant
programme management experience combined with a Bachelor’s Degree can
substitute the requirement for a Master’s Degree
Required
Experience
A minimum
of 5 years relevant health system strengthening experience.
Demonstrated
experience in project management.
Demonstrated
experience managing multidisciplinary teams is an advantage.
Experience
in implementing development programmes is an advantage
Experience
in implementing in the private sector is an advantage;
Experience
in delivering technical assistance and/or institutional capacity building is an
asset.
Proficiency
in report writing, and presentation skills.
Willingness
to travel domestically and internationally as required
Skills
and Competencies
Strategic
thinking and leadership skills
Excellent
oral and written communication skills
Good
coordination, problem solving and networking skills
Excellent
stakeholder engagement skills
Excellent
report writing skills
Decision
making and problem-solving skills
Ability
to work under pressure, and within strict time limits